Sunday, 6 October 2013

Building on its current and highly successful formula, the 2014BMW X5Sports Activity Vehicle gets a
significant remake as the line enters its third generation. In addition to more
style, enhanced comfort/convenience/safety features and even better
performance, this focused makeover also includes the introduction of the first-ever
rear-drive X5 variant -- the sDrive35i -- which will join the existing
all-wheel drive xDrive35i, xDrive35d and xDrive50i models.

Visually, the 2014 BMW X5 adds new edge to the exterior which
can be most clearly seen in its recast fascia highlighted by bigger, bolder
twin kidney grille elements that now stretch all the way to the restyled
headlamps. Standard corner-following Adaptive Xenon main lights can be upgraded
to full LED counterparts while LED foglamps appear on all models. This is the
first BMW X model to get drag-reducing Air Curtains that help channel air
around the wheel arches and out through equally new Air Breathers located in
the rear portion of the front fenders. More dynamic character lines add
interest to the X5's profile while its restyled rear quarters boast thinner
3-dimensional LED taillamps, a more aggressive exhaust/lower valance treatment
and subtle new black Aero Blades that work with the roof spoiler to further
enhance the X5's aerodynamic profile.

In addition to its basic spec, the 2014 BMW X5 will offer new
xLine and Luxury Line trims as well as a more performance-oriented M Sport
package. Like other BMW models, each features its own unique exterior and
interior cosmetic/functional upgrades, including bespoke 19-inch standard and
20-inch optional alloy wheels. The 2014 X5's option roster also adds a pair of
Interior Design Packages. The Ivory White group nets Ivory White Nappa Leather
upholstery, an Atlas Grey leather dash and Fineline Oak Wood trim, while the
Mocha alternative brings Mocha Brown Nappa Leather, a Black Nappa Leather dash
and Fineline Pure Wood accentlng.

Inside, the 2014 X5's cabin continues to have seating for five
with an optional third row that ups the count to seven. A bounty of new
standards -- the latest version of BMW's iDrive controller with direct
character recognition capability, BMW Navigation with a 10.2-inch control display
monitor and Advanced Real-time Traffic, a full suite of BMW Apps, Mobile
Office, heated seats, a panoramic moonroof, and BMW Assist eCall with a 10-year
subscription -- add new charm to this spacious inner sanctum, as does its power
tailgate that now can now be both opened and closed by remote control.

Optional kit for the 2014 X5 also has been enhanced with the
addition of things like harman/kardon and Bang & Olufsen premium audio
systems, a dual-screen rear-seat entertainment package, heated and fully
adjustable second-row Comfort Seats, 4-zone climate control and an enhanced
Head-Up Display. The extras roster also features the latest generations of BMW
Parking Assistant and Night Vision, Active Blind Spot Detection, Active Cruise
Control with Stop & Go, Lane Departure Warning, pedestrian and collision
warning with braking function and Rear-View and Surround View camera systems.

Motivation for the 2014 BMW X5 comes in three forms. The
standard engine in the sDrive35i/xDrive35i continues to be the familiar
3.0-liter/300-horsepower TwinPower Turbo inline-6 that also makes 300 lb-ft of
torque. However, the 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbodiesel inline-6 in the xDrive35d
is an all new engine that features a new variable-geometry turbocharger and
produces 255 horses with 413 lb-ft of torque. The range-topping X5 xDrive50i
gets an upgraded version of the 4.4-liter TwinPower twin-turbo V8 that adds BMW's
Valvetronic variable valve timing to the mix. That change pops its pony count
from 400 to 445 and moves peak torque from 450 to 480 lb-ft. All of the engines
are paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission with an efficiency enhancing
ECO PRO mode which is expected to help each version generate slightly to
significantly better EPA numbers -- although those figures won't be finalized
for some time -- as well as improved 0-60 mph sprint times.

Exceptional handling has always been a hallmark of the X5, and
this new iteration is set to further embellish that tradition. While nearly
identical in size to the current X5, the 2014 benefits from a redesigned unit
body that incorporates more high-strength steel to help trim a bit of curb
weight while creating an even stiffer foundation. In addition to its more
refined standard chassis tune and revamped multi-mode Driving Dynamics Control
programming, the 2014 X5 will be the first to offer BMW's Dynamic Handling
Package. Buyers of xDrive versions also can opt for the extra refinement of
Dynamic Performance Control. An Adaptive M Suspension also will be on offer as
part of the M Sport package.

The 2014 BMW X5 sDrive35i/xDrive35i, and xDrive 50i will be arriving
in showrooms sometime during the fourth quarter, while the xDrive35d is set to
turn up in early 2014. All will be manufactured at BMW's plant in Spartanburg,
S.C. and pricing will be announced closer to their actual on-sale dates.

A
former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae, has said he lost a
political successor in his son, Deji, who died in the ill-fated Associated
Airline on Thursday.

Deji,
who was the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Ondo State, led the state
government’s delegation to accompany the corpse of former Ondo State
governor, Chief Olusegun Agagu from Lagos to Akure, for the a state burial.

Falae,
who was still grieving over the loss, told the visiting Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, that he had reached the peak of his political
sojourn.

“I was
looking forward to seeing Deji take over from me, because I have reached the
peak of my being in politics. I will miss him so much,” he said.

He,
however, noted that he would submit to God since he could not question God over
the death of his son.

Tambuwal
had visited the home of the chieftain to commiserate with him and his family
over the Thursday plane crash.

Tambuwal
said Deji was his friend and had sent useful text messages to him on how to
move the country forward, four days before the unfortunate incident.

He
prayed that God would grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Some
traditional rulers in Ondo State also paid a condolence visit to the politician
in his Akure home in respect of the sad incident.

Falae,
while receiving them, said his son had earned his place in the present
Government of Ondo State.

According
to him, in spite of his political stature, he never influenced Deji’s
appointment as a commissioner.

He
noted that his son had been a friend of Governor Mimiko and his appointment had
nothing to do with his person.

The
traditional rulers, led by Olukare of Ikare-Akoko, Oba Akadiri Momoh, encouraged
Falae to have faith in God.

Commissioner
for Information, Kayode Akinmade, told our correspondent that the late
commissioner had to go to Lagos follow the corpse down to Akure following the
request by Agagu’s family that a senior member of the state government should
accompany the corpse.

Meanwhile, Sunday punch gathered that the
Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Segun Mimiko, officially broke the news of Deji’s
death to his father on Thursday.

Mimiko,
who broke down in tears upon entering Falae’s house, was consoled by
sympathisers.

Until
his untimely death, Deji was the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in
Mimiko’s cabinet.

There are so many
reasonswhy people go to
church. Some like the feeling/warmth they get, some like what they learn, some
go there to serve and encourage others. Some say they get refreshed from the
weekly services they attend, some are motivated to live more Christianly. Some
say they live better and more purposeful lives the next/following week with a
clearer, more God-focused perspective. Some look forward to Sunday services
when they can feel their passion for God stirred again and understand more
about how God wants them to live.

Lets consider these
categories of people, and why they go to Church:

Those
who go to church to live more Christianly during the week or to serve
others through the church.

Parents
who regard church as a partnership with youth workers and Sunday school
teachers to keep their children out of trouble and into the faith.

Those
who go to church to find their future partner or to meet with friends (to
network) primarily.

Those
who go to church because they are bored and need to find relief from an
otherwise tedious existence.

Those
who go because they need God to fulfill certain material and spiritual
needs for them.

There is more to
church than all these reasons/motives/explanations. Church is more than a
weekly spiritual meal to nourish you for the week ahead, and more than a weekly
place to serve others.

It is more than an
opportunity to influence kids for Christ, it is more than social opportunities
in a Christian atmosphere. It is also more than a spiritual distraction from
boredom.

Does it then mean,
that people will not go to church if they don’t have the needs mentioned above?

Ask yourself why
you go to church.

Is the church, from
the human perception and understanding the same as the church in God’s
perception?

Sustainable banking in Nigeria: a strategy or a
mindset?

The Nigerian Sustainable
Banking Principles are a major step forward, but if sustainability is just a
strategy - they may be easily abandoned

A man works at an oil refinery site in Nigeria. The country's sustainable banking principles demand that banks consider environmental and social risks. Photograph: Akintunde Akinleye/REUTERSOn 24
September 24 2012, the Central Bank ofNigerialaunched
the Nigerian Sustainable Banking
Principles. The adoption and implementation of these principles are
compulsory and require Nigerian "banks, discount houses and development
finance institutions to develop a management approach that balances the
environmental and social risks identified with the opportunities to be
exploited through their business activities".

This move by the Central Bank
of Nigeria, spearheaded by the current governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi –
which has been internationally applauded – appears to be the first of its kind
globally. In its approach to promoting commitment tosustainability, it is an unusual mix of
soft and hard governance.

Since its launch, there have been a series of initiatives and
dynamism towards embedding sustainability in the Nigerian banking sector. The
launch of the principles has created a new market for sustainability services
(for example, training and consultancy) for both local and foreign players.

While the banks are warming up to embrace this new way of doing
business, there is a seeming apprehension and scepticism about the
sustainability of the principles themselves when the current governor leaves office.
The main source of uncertainty, given the peculiarities of the Nigerian
business environment, is a possible reversal of the principles if they are not
pursued by subsequent Central Bank governors. In other words, sustainable
banking in Nigeria could be abandoned. This uncertainty adds to the already
narrow portrayal of the principles as principally risk management measures.
Framed as such, commitment to sustainability becomes a risk management
strategy, which becomes meaningless in the absence of risks.

In addition, there is a view,
albeit marginal, that the sustainability agenda is a subtle ploy by western
institutions to make emerging market firms (Nigerian banks included)
uncompetitive. These views, no matter how far-fetched, tend to position commitment
to sustainability as a strategy that could be dropped when the enabling
conditions are no longer feasible. This is in sharp contrast to banks – eg theGlobal Alliance for Banking
on Valuesand theB-corporationfirms – that see commitment to
sustainability primarily as a business philosophy, rather than merely a
strategy to adapt to the spirit of the moment.

The attitude of the Nigerian banks towards the adoption of the
principles is not new. The business community often speaks of commitment to
sustainability as a strategy, a practice, or sets of activities. This view of
sustainability is visually powerful and attractive. As a strategy, it can offer
opportunities to manage risks, explore opportunities, and adapt to changing
business contexts and expectations for long-term success. Appending strategy to
sustainability, and the exploration of sustainability as a strategy, moves it
away from being a fluffy business issue to a strategic objective.

However, what is often missing
is the view that corporate commitment to sustainability is more than a
strategy. It is first and foremost an organisational orientation committed to
reducing its negative impacts and increasing its positive impacts on its
different stakeholder groups (customers, shareholders, employees, regulators,
the government, unions, local communities). It is aboutcreating shared value– win-win outcomes for business and
society. Framed as such, commitment to sustainability is a way of life – the
how of "how we do business" – guided by the following principles:

•Sense of connectedness:the ability to see the whole picture
and systems thinking

•Sense of fairness, justice and
otherness:the
ability to consciously and voluntarily minimise negative impacts and enhance
positive impacts on others

•Innovation, creativity and change:the ability to discover and adapt to
new ways

•Sense of transparency and
accountability:the
ability to minimise information asymmetry through openness and good governance.

In that regard, commitment to sustainability is not primarily a
strategy, but a lens through which strategy is crafted and implemented. It is
first a mindset before being a strategy; otherwise, a sustainability strategy
is, at best, hollow and unsustainable.

However, for genuine commitment to sustainability to be
successful, the larger society has to provide the enabling environment for it
to thrive. For example, if a firm tries to reduce negative impacts, these
efforts can be sustained only under certain conditions where there is a market
for such improvements, NGOs help make standards visible, and governments have
disclosure rules that make it uncompetitive for competitors to behave
otherwise. In such an enabling environment, commitment to sustainability affords
firms and managers the opportunity to adjust their practices for competitive
advantage and long-term sustainability.

Unfortunately, the Nigerian business environment, like most
developing country markets, is particularly characterised by poor governance
and weak consumer voice, which will in turn have implications for the success
or failure of the longevity of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles. The
launch of the principles is a major step forward. Even though more needs to be
done to create an enabling environment for sustainability to thrive and bear
meaningful fruit, the banks that are truly committed to sustainability will
seek to create the change they desire, and not play victims of weak
institutional context.

Dr Kenneth Amaeshi is the director of the Sustainable
Business Initiative, and an associate professor in strategy and international
business, at the Edinburgh University. Dr Chris Ogbechie is the director of the
Etisalat Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, and a senior fellow in
strategy and corporate governance, at the Lagos Business School.

It's a crime with international
repercussions, and second only to the drugs trade for the money it earns. And
it threatens to destabilise Africa's second-largest economy

Fishermen
from Bodo on the Niger Delta. Photograph: Noah Payne-Frank for the Observer

The
flames roared 20 metres above the Niger delta swamp for 48 hours; 6,000 barrels
of crudeoilspilled
into the creeks and waterways around the village of Bodo and several people
died. But although the Nigerian army and navy were stationed just 100 metres
from the site of the massive explosion, no one knows – or will say – what
really happened to Nigeria's most important oil pipeline around
2am on 19 June.

It
could have been an accident. The Trans Niger pipeline, which transports around
150,000 barrels a day of crude oil from wells across the Niger delta through
the creeks and impoverished villages of Ogoniland and Ogu-Bolo to the giant oil
terminal at Bonney, is rusting, nearly 50 years old and known to spring leaks.
But it is also one of the most sabotaged pipelines in the world with local
communities accused by Shell of making over 20 attempts to tap oil from it in
the last year.

Company
contractors had been repairing one section of the pipeline when the explosion
happened but the official investigation team believes that the accident
followed a botched attempt to steal tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil.
Even as one group of engineers was removing illegal taps on the line, another
group is thought to have been installing equipment to allow huge amounts of oil
to be siphoned straight into large barges where it would be taken out to sea to
waiting tankers bound for Europe and the US.

"From
the moment I got to the scene [the next day] I was suspicious," says
Catholic priest Father Obi, appointed by Shell to be an official observer for
the Bodo investigation. "The scene had been hurriedly deserted. Shell must
have known what was going on. The military must have known. Everyone knew there
was complicity. I am personally sure that Shell knew that its oil was being
stolen. If the managers did not know, then those who they put in charge [of the
operation]seemed to know. This [theft] could not have happened without the
collusion of the authorities and the military." Obi is concerned that the
official report has still not been published and is threatening to release his
own.

It all
adds up to organised crime stealing oil using the cover of the authorities, he
says. "Why was a massive barge able to hold 10,000 barrels of oil being
loaded at 2am with crude? Why did another catch fire? Why were excavators
there? Why were local observers arrested the next day, their cameras
confiscated and memory cards destroyed? Were the thieves being protected by the
military? Was the company paying workers to clean up oil spilled in the process
of theft they themselves were engaged in? Did Shell know its oil was being
stolen from under its nose?" he asks.

In a
statement, Shell accepted its oil was being stolen when the accident happened
but strongly denied any collusion or knowledge of who might be responsible.
Shell Nigeria's managing director, Mutiu Sunmonu, said: "Unknown persons
continued to reconnect illegal bunkering hoses at Bodo West even as our
pipeline team were removing crude theft points." But the company has yet
to make public its own investigation.

"We
are not aware of any direct involvement [in the Bodo explosion] but we would
take legal action if anything was discovered," adds a spokesman for the
company in Port Harcourt.

"One
has to understand there is this accusation that the oil industry employees are
behind this, but there are thousands of people who have the skills who may have
been working with the industry over the years. These people are outside and
some of them may be for hire. There is a sophisticated organisation, clearly it
is not just local. There has to be a wide network," says Philip Mshelbila,
head of Shell communications in Lagos.

The Bodo explosion is significant because it shows how oil theft
in Nigeria has reached an industrial scale. It is now underminingAfrica's second-biggest economy and ranks with
the drugs trade as the most lucrative crime in the world.

According
to President Goodluck Jonathan, 300,000-400,000 barrels of oil per day, or more
than 10% of all Nigeria's production, is being lost at a cost to the state and
oil companies of around £1bn a month – more than is spent on education and the
health of the nation's 168 million people. Not only is Nigerian oil theft
helping to keep the world price of oil high, it is causing corruption and
social disorder, says the president.

"The
figures are huge. [Oil theft]could destabilise Nigeria. The business is worth
billions of dollars a year. It is on an industrial scale, and involves
commodity traders, international [criminals] and a whole network of people.
There are some allegations that the oil companies themselves are
implicated," says presidential aide Ken Saro-Wiwa, whose father, along
with other Ogoni chiefs, was executed in 1995 after a peaceful protest against
Shell.

Mshelbila
says: "We are losing 60,000-80,000 barrels of oil a day. This is just what
we know is stolen from the trunk lines. We have to shut down lines, so, taken
together it's probably 300,000-400,000 barrels a day. We are seeing more
illegal connections, more frequent shutdowns than one year ago."

According
to a report from the foreign affairs thinktank Chatham House, oil is being
stolen not just from pipelines but from tank farms, export terminals, refinery
storage tanks, jetties, ports, pipelines, and wellheads. "Officials and
private actors disguise theft through manipulation of meters and shipping
documents. Proceeds are laundered through world financial centres and used to
buy assets in and outside Nigeria, polluting markets and financial institutions
overseas, and creating reputational, political and legal hazards," it
says.

Much of
the stolen oil is exported to foreign refineries or storage facilities, says
the report, including buyers in West Africa, the US, Brazil, China, Singapore,
Thailand, Indonesia and the Balkans. The proceeds appear to be laundered through
banks and other channels in various African countries, Dubai, Indonesia, India,
Singapore, the US, the UK, and Switzerland.

The
scale of the "bunkering" has shocked observers. Thirty centimetre
pipelines able to transport thousands of barrels of oil a day have been found
leading straight from pipelines into the swamps. The Nigerian navy had to sack
two admirals for their role in the disappearance of a tanker that had been
seized for transporting 11,000 tonnes of stolen crude.

"A
lot of big-time stealing goes on. You know the oil you are offered is
stolen," says one oil trader in Port Harcourt who asks to remain
anonymous. "They give it to you without documents at a cheaper rate. I was
offered 50,000 litres today for 55 naira (20p) a litre. But 75 nairais the
cheapest you can get it from the government. You know it's a racket. There is
no chance of getting caught because there is no system to catch people. Big
business is big politics."

He
alleges that the Nigerian military has become deeply implicated in oil theft
since an amnesty was declared with militants two years ago. "The military
now control the oil platforms, not the militants. People now have to buy oil
directly from the military. The military is a chain of command, so I can only
assume this goes to the very top. Oil theft used to be about people breaking
into pipes. That is not happening any more. If I want to load 200 tonnes of
crude, I would have to pay for a lot of security. It is far easier to go
straight to the military."

Most of
the oil is being stolen by the rich, he says. "It is dishonest for
government and the oil companies to blame the poor for stealing the oil. The
people in the communities are just the foot soldiers. Clearly this is a
sophisticated organisation. Where do people get vessels, the money for bribes
and security? It costs millions. What the poor take is very small. The racket
goes deep into the security and political systems. Tens of thousands of tonnes
of oil is being spirited away every week. All the authorities are involved –
the oil companies, the military, the politicians. There's plenty of money to be
made so everyone is in it."

Research by delta non-government groupStakeholder Democracy Now(SDN)
estimates that 75% of the stolen oil is being exported with the rest being
refined in illegal "artisanal refineries". More than 500 of these are
known to have been set up in the last five years, taking stolen crude and
refining it into a rough diesel for local sale.

According
to SDN, a medium-sized illegal refinery costs around £3,000 to set up but can
earn that back in a few weeks. But the operators need to pay hefty bribes to
the police and military, as well as to buy oil tapped off the 1,600km of
pipelines that cross the delta. Each tapping point, says SDN, can earn more
than £500,000 a month but its investors must pay armed guards, the military,
contractors, local communities and even oil company staff.

Delta
communities freely admit their role in the theft of oil but blame continuing
poverty and pollution for their actions. "The government and oil companies
are collecting our oil and we don't have jobs, or money so we have to collect
the oil and refine our own," says a man in the village of Bolo near where
an illegal refinery was set up five years ago.

Bolo
leaders admit that the military was paid off. "When the refinery was
working it used to refine around 10,000 litres of oil a day. It could only
operate with the help of the police and military, The pay-off system to the
armed forces and police was well organised. It was a plum posting for the
military here. Most army have a lifestyle that you cannot explain," says
Mela Oforibika, a lawyer and chief of the Bolo community.

"This
place was booming. Every house was rented out. Thirty people had jobs. Young
men came in who knew the art of distillation. What moral right did I have to
stop them? It brought us money. The bars were full, the economy
benefited."

But the
pollution from the illegal refineries was extreme because no one knew how to
safely dispose of the waste residues from the diesel-making process. The Bolo
refinery on the small island of Odokian was raided by the military five months
ago, possibly because the consortium who owned it refused to pay the authorities
for protection.

Today,
the four-acre site stinks of oil and may never recover. It is saturated with
waste oil, the palm trees are blackened by fire and there are no fish in the
waterways. Rusting pipes, burned-out oil drums and old metal tanks litter several
acres of what was lush farmland.

Community chiefs blame the oil companies and government for the
pollution rather than the refiners. "There's a heavy level of unemployment
here. People knew what was happening to the environment, but what is the alternative
for the young men? The illegal refineries were set up as a direct result of the
wickedness of Shell and the oil companieswho
polluted the waterwaysand
never compensated us. The refineries have been destroyed but they will come
back. How long can you keep armies to police these communities? We would never
have allowed these [refineries] to come into our area if we had been properly
compensated before," says Boma Ipiurima Asitonka, a Bolo teacher.

"You
cannot abandon people like this. If there was work here, no one would have made
this pollution," says Oisiekel Tubomie, chief of Bolo youth council.

The
only solution to oil theft is to give people a stake in the oil, say the
chiefs. "We propose that the government sets up and licenses legal,
mini-refineries in dozens of villages and sells them oil at cost price so they
can profit, provide jobs and diesel for the communities. It would destroy the
criminality and end the pollution," says Oforibika. But this is not an
option for the oil companies, who must operate in an increasingly volatile
environment bristling with guns. Shell plans to spend £1bn building a new, more
secure loop for the Trans Niger pipeline to bypass Ogoniland and areas where
its present one is regularly sabotaged.

"If the
government and the oil companies spent a fraction of what they lose to theft on
developing the delta communities, they would not have these problems of theft.
As it stands, the oil industry is run by a very small elite for a very few
people. If nothing changes, the future here is bleak," says Oforibika.